


Let the chips fall where they may

by majesticghost



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Champagne, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I imagine it's summertime in this, M/M, kind of, or late spring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22775779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesticghost/pseuds/majesticghost
Summary: The problem with nice parties is always the fucking tie.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 70





	Let the chips fall where they may

The problem with nice parties is always the fucking tie.

The music is nice, the food is great, the drinks are free, and the tie is literally choking Joey to death, or at least he starts to feel some kind of way about it after his fourth glass of champagne.

He’s been tugging at it for the past half hour and decides now is a good time to get rid of it. As he’s untying the knot from around his neck, the balcony door behind him creaks and he curses under his breath. Just his luck for some big shot investor who’s been scoffing at his unruly hair all evening to see him all _bare collared_ – but it’s just Kaiba.

Joey breathes a small sigh of relief and sags back against the marble hand railing.

“Stripping already, Wheeler? You don’t seem intoxicated enough.”

Joey would like to say something Really Great that would shut Kaiba up but he’s pretty drunk so all that comes out is: “Your party’s stupid and so are you.”

“You’re half right,” says Kaiba and empties his champagne glass.

Joey tries very hard to not follow the movement of his throat, but he does anyway and feels his mouth go dry.

“Why did you throw it then?” he asks resentfully, because despite the everlasting scowl, Seto looks quite weary.

“I didn’t,” says Kaiba, “someone did it for me.”

“I figured, you dingbat. I wasn’t assuming you’d stoop to the level of the common man by blowing up balloons, I’m asking why you agreed to this.”

“Something something publicity,” says Seto and peers down over the railing, at the people spilled out into the night air on the lawn, illuminated by the warm light from the open entrance.

Joey rolls his eyes. “We both know you don’t need it.”

“No, but you and your dweeb squad might,” says Seto and smirks.

Joey shakes his head. “I told you I’m not doing the tournament.”

“Suit yourself. Yugi might want to, though.”

“Yugi can,” says Joey, and almost as an afterthought, adds “and he will.”

“Why did you come then?” asks Seto and turns his back to the railing.

He really needs to stop _leaning_ on things because it creates a kind of ‘approach me if you dare’ situation and Joey thinks he’s had just about enough alcohol where he might actually dare it. Which would surely end badly for him.

“Free booze,” he shrugs. “Good snacks.”

Seto scoffs, and Joey suppresses a grin. “And a chance to embarrass you.”

“Bold of you to assume anybody here would think I’m associated with you,” says Kaiba, and Joey tilts his head the slightest bit, to assess the man from a different angle, though it doesn’t help with the swaying sensation he’s experiencing. “Everybody knows we’re _friends_ , Kaiba.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Fine. Belligerent acquaintances.”

“Big word.”

“I read a _thesaurus_ yesterday,” says Joey, suddenly feeling very amused by this situation.

He’s trying to ignore the warm buzz that’s steadily building under his skin. It might be from the drinks, but it might also be from something he tries to ignore every time Kaiba gets him alone. He gets a rise out of this – talking, teasing, countering everything Kaiba throws at him with something of his own – a duel.

It’s like he’s poking the monster, waiting for the attack, but any real danger has long disappeared, having been replaced by something different – anticipation, perhaps. Joey’s not scared of Kaiba, nor anything that might be coming his way. It feels exciting.

He needs more of whatever it is.

“You want a Nobel prize now?” Kaiba asks, and it might be the alcohol clouding Joey’s judgement again, but the tone that he says it with is different. Joey wouldn’t go so far as to call it _fond_ but it’s something.

“No. I want to embarrass you,” he says with a sigh, and pulls the tie off for good.

He slips the rolled-up fabric into his pocket and undoes some buttons while he’s at it. A good dishevelled guest is surely an eyesore at any KaibaCorp event. He runs a hand through his hair for good measure, perches himself on the railing and crosses his arms, staring at Kaiba defiantly.

"Look at me! I’m a menace to society and you let me in here.”

The look on Kaiba’s face is indecipherable. He stares at Joey, not blinking once.

The noise of the party on the upper floor and in the yard suddenly falls far away, and all Joey can hear is his own breathing.

The warm buzzing sensation from earlier becomes almost uncomfortably hot in an instant, as he realises what his ridiculous display could look like in a different context. He tries to reassure himself it didn’t come across that way, because this is not _that kind_ of context. Or is it?

He stares right back, grateful for the breeze that’s cooling his skin, aflame a thousand different ways, and hopes the deepening twilight hides his blush.

Kaiba’s still as a stone, letting his eyes drift across Joey’s whole body, and suddenly, despite the unease of uncharted territory, the excitement, the _thrill_ of the standoff is back.

Joey decides to take the chance.

“If you get me another drink, I might take the rest off too,” he says in what he hopes is a light-hearted tone, but his voice sounds deeper than he intended it to.

The sound of somebody laughing downstairs echoes distantly in Joey’s ears. Kaiba looks like how he does in the middle of an intense duel – his face betrays nothing, but he’s thinking, weighing everything at once. The seconds stretch on endlessly.

“One champagne coming right up,” he then says, turns and walks back the way he came, through the balcony doors, disappearing into the crowd.

Joey squeezes his eyes shut so hard he almost loses his balance. The buzz explodes into a million tiny butterflies fluttering around his insides. His heart is thumping in his chest, and he tries to take deep breaths to calm the rush before it gets the best of him. He wants to laugh, from relief, from the adrenaline, from the _feelings_.

He climbs off the railing before he tumbles over the edge into the rose bushes and straightens himself.

If he didn’t know any better, he would say Kaiba _ran_ the whole way back; his hair is a mess and the hem of his shirt is partially untucked when he reappears. It’s a miracle the champagne hasn’t spilled.

As he hands Joey the glass, there’s a slight tremor in his hands. Joey lingers on purpose, brushing his fingers against Kaiba's. The surge of energy is undeniable. The game is on.

“Cheers,” he says and clinks their glasses together, unable to hide the smile.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to post in time for Valentine’s Day and then ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> (There was also going to be more of this, but I’ve started about 6 new works since the last one, including a Christmas and a New Years’ fic, all of which are hopelessly unfinished, and I really just wanted to post something already, so here we are.)


End file.
